Andy Stevens, 30 year old factory worker

You drive down the darkened road, cursing the rain. You knew picking up a night shift was a mistake, but you couldn’t back out after agreeing. And now, here you are, driving home at 1 in the morning, in the pouring rain. Road construction you to take back roads, and you’re to rely on the map on your phone to find your way.

You sigh, wondering how far out of your way you’ve gone. Not that there’s a huge rush to get home, other than to shower and crash in bed. At least it’s the weekend, and payday. Maybe you can hit the bar, maybe get lucky. After all, karma owes you one after tonight, right?

You chuckle to yourself, planning out your weekend as you drive. You’re lost in your thoughts when suddenly a shadow flashes past your headlights. You swerve and slam on your brakes, narrowly avoiding whatever darted in front of your car. Skidding to a halt, you look back to see a figure cowering on the shoulder, illuminated by your taillights. You squint, trying to identify what it is. You can’t really tell, but it’s big, about human sized, but you see a catlike tail dangling behind it.

You watch for a moment more as it stays, unmoving, on the side of the road. Finally, you decide to grab your flashlight and see what it is. Stepping out into the rain, you immediately regret not buying an umbrella. You cautiously approach the figure, trying to see through the rain. You stop when your flashlight illuminates them, now curled up and shivering.

From what you can see, it looks like a person…with a tail! They’re wearing some kind of orange dress, and you see short, dark hair, soaking wet and dirty. You blink again as you see what looks like cat ears on their head..three of them. On their bare shoulder, you glimpse a tattooed number 83. Whatever they are, they’re quivering in either fear or cold, and as you approach, you can hear the quiet sobs.

Unsure what else to do, you speak, trying to stay calm. “Uhh, hey. Are you…ok?”

Their head snaps up, and you gasp in surprise. This is a woman! No…a cat girl? She’s dirty, and clearly terrified, but what really throws you are her eyes. The left is yellow and catlike, while the right is a vibrant blue. The right side of her face is also heavily scarred, and you can see bruises under the dirt on her. However, despite the dirt, the scars, and the bruises, you can’t help but see that she’s very pretty! She doesn’t answer your question, simply sitting back up and looking at you, a mixture of worry and hope on her strange features as she looks up at you.

You wait a moment, but she still doesn’t speak. You wonder if she even can. As you watch, she suddenly starts coughing, her frail form wracked by the violent fit. You realize that you have to make a decision. Do you call the police? Take her home? Leave her here? Whatever it is, you can’t just stand in the rain in the middle of the night any more.